Canada



A. C. DENNIS.

METHOD OF TUNNELING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. \a, I915.

RENEWED JAN- 15,1919.

Patented J uly 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

A. C. DENNIS.

METHOD OF TUNNELING. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 18, 19|5. RENEWED JAN. 15,1919.

I 1,308,583. I Patented July 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTO By an .B

Attorneys rm: COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR CRISFIELD DENNIS, OF GLACIER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

METHOD OF TUNNELING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 1919.

Application filed October 18, 1915, Serial No. 56,585. Renewed January 15, 1919. Serial No. 271,334.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AR'rHUn CRIsFIELD DENNIS, of the town of Glacier, 1n the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have 111- vented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Tunneling, of which the following is the specification.

The invention relates to an improved method of excavating tunnels, particularly through rock, which will allow of operations being carried on in the main tunnel at several difierent locations at the same time and will allow of the work of enlarging the main tunnel without interfering with the blasting or mucking.

lVith the above principal and other lesser objects in view the invention consists essentially in the arrangement, construction and operation of parts hereinafter more particularly described and later pointed out in the appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal horizontal sectional view through a tunnel wherein my method is employed.

Fig. 2 represents a vertical sectional view lon itudinally through the main tunnel.

I ig. 3 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view across the main tunnel, the sec tion being taken in the plane denoted by the line XX' Fig. l.

Fig. t is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view across the auxiliary heading, the section being taken in the plane denoted by the line YY Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is diagrammatically, a horizontal sectional view through the main tunnel and auxiliary heading and through the mam heading.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

At the outset I wish to explain that at present the general practice of tunneling is to excavate a heading in advance of the main tunnel, the heading being enlarged by blasting into the main tunnel as the work advances. The result of this is that all the equipment necessary to the tunneling operations have to be brought into the tunnel past the location where the work is being carried on. With this form of practice, much time and labor is lost owing to one part of the work having to be held up for another and also on account of the various operating appliances having to be moved back during the blasting operation. WVith my method of tunneling I provide a working or pioneer tunnel outside the main tunnel and utilize this working tunnel for the purpose of ventilating the main tunnel workings; carrying pipe lines for compressed air and water to the advanced work around the main tunnel blasting and mucking; carrying muck from the advanced work around the main tunnel enlargement aforesaid and mucking so as not to interfere therewith; enabling the advance heading to be driven and enlargement drilling to be done without interfering with the work at the tunnel enlargement and also as a second outlet for the men in case one of the tunnels should become blocked.

Referring now to the drawings;

1 represents what I term my pioneer or auxiliary heading, which is excavated to the side of the main heading 2. In actual practice, the pioneer heading will be possibly made of a section seven feet by eight feet and it will be driven into the rock a considerable distance. From it cross-cuts .3, 4 and 5 will be made at intervals and then, from the inner ends of these cross cuts, I will proceed to excavate that which I call a main heading, such being hereinbefore referred to and indicated by the reference numeral 2.

All the equipment necessary for driving the center heading, such embodying the compressed air pipe, the water pipe, and the ventilating pipe, indicated at 6, 7 and 8, and the necessary tools, and also all the neces-' sary appliances for removing the excavated material from the main heading, will be brought into the main heading through the pioneer heading and cross cuts. This allows the work of driving the main heading to be carried on at different locations, depending on the number of cross cuts made.

I11 connection with the main heading, I

.wish here to emphasize the fact that it is driven centered, in the main tunnel. This feature is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, where it is apparent that the heading is located centrally of the main tunnel section. This feature is emphasized for the reason that in present practice the main heading is usually driven at the top of the main tunnel section. By changing the location of the center heading I derive impor tant benefits later enlarged upon.

After the pioneer heading has been driven sufficiently far toward what might be termed 45 tunnel on cars provided.

theentra'nce end of the tunnel, I proceed to enlarge the main heading into the main tunno], the enlargement or the main tunnel being shown at 9. In the drawings a portion 5 of the main tunnel has been shown as excavated and tracks 11 and 12 have been installed and on these I have mounted a shovel 13 and car 14 which are used to remove the material from the main tunnel after the same is blasted.

In enlarging the center heading into the main tunnel, the drilling for blasting is carried on in the main heading where it enters the main tunnel enlargement, the drill holes 15 15 actually being made all around the center heading in a manner as indicated best in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The drilling operation in the main heading is a continuous one and the blasting operation is continuous as far as practicable, the blasting taking the shovel and car in the main tunnel or enlargement, this work going on without interrupting in any way the workmen in the main heading.

After the work of enlarging the main heading has been carried in a considerable distance, the muck or excavated material from the main heading, which is, of course, being excavated all the time, is carried out through one of the cross cuts around the main tunnel section and back again through another of the cross cuts to the main tunnel section. This facilitates this work and in order that it might be better understood I wish now to refer to Fig. 5 of the drawings,

where it will be seen that the blasted material from the main heading 2 can be carried out through the cross "cut 4 .to the pioneer heading 1, then through the cross cut 5 into the main tunnel and finally out of the main The cross cut, in this diagram, is considered as well behind the shovel work in the main tunnel.

In the reference to the driving of the center heading centered on the main tunnel 5O enlargement, I may state that the drilling for the explosive charge can be very easily carried on as the drilling operator in the center heading can drill 111 all directlons around the centen heading and in the manner as shown in Fig. 3.

The pioneer heading and cross cuts provide a very easy method of clearing out the gases, etc., accumulating in the main tunnel, due to blasting operations. In actual practice, I provide a fan at the entrance to the pioneer headin which fan forces fresh air through the pioneer heading, cross-cuts and center heading to the enlargement or main tunnel, this forced draft of air carrying ahead of it all the accumulating gases and in so doing clearing the main tunnel of such gases. The gases in the center heading are cleared ,out in the usual way by an exhaust pipe line entering the center heading through the cross cuts from the pioneer heading. This exhaust pipe line draws out the obnoxious gases and in so doing causes an inrush of fresh air to the heading through the pioneer heading and cross cuts.

From the above description it will be seen that all the advantages hereinhefore set forth as features of this invention are read- 'ily obtainedthrough the driving of the pioneer heading and cross cuts to the side of the main tunnel location and while the cost of driving this pioneer heading may be considerable, still, it so facilitates the work of enlarging the main tunnel that it more than saves the cost of its construction in the complete tunneling operation.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to horizontal cross cuts for they may be inclined in a horizontal plane or may lie in a plane inclined to the horizontal, or both.

Vhat I claim as my invention is In a method of tunneling consisting in driving an auxiliary heading outside of the main tunnel section, excavating cross cuts from the auxiliary heading, driving a main heading to connect the cross cuts, drilling from the main heading for enlargement to the full tunnel section, and then excavating to the full tunnel section.

Signed at Winnipeg this 22nd day of June, 1915.

ARTHUR CRISFIELD DENNIS.

In the presence of G. S. RoXBURoI-I, S. SILvnR'r.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

